


Bitter

by spockandawe



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, F/M, Sad, Unhappy Ending, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-06
Updated: 2013-02-06
Packaged: 2017-11-28 10:59:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/673641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spockandawe/pseuds/spockandawe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's impossible for Toph to stop watching Sokka, even if it hurts her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bitter

He probably didn't know how much I watched him. It was too easy, even when my back was turned, to keep a close eye on him. At first I didn't have any worries. By any measure of beauty I knew, I was the best catch in the world. I was strong, confident, and I had always been able to get whatever I set my heart on. I had no reason to think he wouldn't come to understand me, cherish me, sweep me into his arms...

From what Aang and Katara said when he wasn't there to hear, I knew there had been another girl. She had died right in front of him, and he had been powerless to save her. With these new, terrifyingly strong emotions just beginning to twist inside me, my heart ached for what he must have felt. One day I wondered if the same thing might ever happen to me and I had to turn away so the others wouldn't see the fear in my face.

Eventually, I began to dream that I could be the one to stand next to him and protect him. I had once scorned him for his lack of bending, but now I only worried for his safety. He had a protector's heart, but I was anxious that he would push himself too far. He admired Aang's strength and his sister's, so surely he would come to appreciate mine, right? I could almost imagine standing shoulder to shoulder with him, facing down the world.

With such hopes, it was an awful blow when she showed up. I couldn't miss how his heart skipped a beat and his pulse raced. Through the day, the knife twisted as he barely looked away from her and didn't have a word for me. When I saved his life and he went to her side, I just wanted to be able to look away. I couldn't have guessed that my gift for bending would ever work against me like this. With every step he took to her side, I wished that I could be a simple blind girl again and not know that the man I loved was doing this to me. At night, I pressed my face to the dirt and cried bitterly. The earth that stretched beneath me was a comfort in my loneliness, but it had betrayed me so cruelly. And no matter what I wanted, I couldn't help but watch.


End file.
